“Whats up?” I say, ready to get his over with.
“Come sit down, honey.” Becky says; eyes red and cheeks wet. She’s pale and her skin has a green undertone to it.She’s pregnant.
“I know what’s going to happen. You don’t need to say anything. I’ll be out by the end of the week I’m sure. I’ve been here before. Assuming you’ve already contacted my case worker and told them. They typically move pretty fast.” I wave my hand in front of me, physically saying that this conversation does not need to happen. I’d much prefer it didn’t.
“Roxie.” Tom steps forward as Becky starts crying and I will myself not to get emotional. I’ve only been with them for a few months, so it’s not long in the grand scheme of things. “We’re so sorry.”
“Yep, it’s fine. I’ve heard it all before.” I step back, trying to force some space between us and Becky wails.
“I’m sorry, Roxie, god, I’m so sorry,” she cries into her hands, and steps back, sitting on the arm of the couch right by the stairs.
“It is what it is. I don’t care.”
They both look guilty. Embarrassed. Full of regret.
But none of that is on me, and I’m not going to claim it.
“I’m going out. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay in this town, so I’m going to go hang out with some friends before I have to leave them,” I say coldly, each word crafted for maximum impact.
Tom shakes his head no, but Becky cries harder.
Pregnancy hormones already.
He puts his arms around his wife, and I run back upstairs to grab my important stuff and pack it into my backpack. It wouldn’t be the first time a foster parent has gotten mad at me and thrown my shit out before my move out date. I know I said I’d be out by the end of the week, but it’s not up to me. Social services comes when they want and that’s that.
Shoving my sketchbook, a few pairs of clothes, all the money I’ve saved, and my chargers into my backpack, I throw on my boots and head out.
“Roxie, please, can we just talk about this?” Tom asks as I put my hand on the door handle.
“Will anything change?” I ask, half holding my breath in hope that it might, half in fear of rejection. I wait long enough for them to answer.
But they don’t.
“Then there you go. I’ll be back later,” I say with finality and run outside.Where do I go? Where do I go?
There.
The walk to the little wooded area behind the school wasn’t as long as I expected, but that could also be because I think I ran most of the way.
The way my heart is pounding and my lungs feel like they’re on fire tells me I did.
I don’t remember most of the walk/run. The only thing that I could remember was Becky’s wails and Tom’s guilty face.
The leaves crunch under my feet as I try to find my way to the big boulder I laid on that day I ditched school with Ty. Back when…everything felt perfect. I had a friend, someone who understood and empathized with me. Someone who wanted to hang out and learn aboutme. And now… Now everything is fucked.
My feet stop when I reach the small clearing, the open space amplified by the moonlight streaming through the leaves.But instead of the silence that should be deafening my ears, I hear more crunching of leaves underfoot, more thudding like thunderous running and someone calling my name in a harsh whisper. “Roxie!”
My hackles immediately rise and I turn, fists up and ready to put my very meager fighting experience to the test.
I can see the shadowed figures move in the darkness, but it’s too dark to see anything else.
“Back thefuckoff! I’m not kidding, I’ll kick your ass!” I scream, bending down and picking up a thick stick by my foot.
“Put the stick down,chica, it’s just me,” I hear Ty say from the darkness and drop the stick in relief.
“Ty?” I ask in a desperate whisper.Thank god.
“What are you doing here?”
